When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, its a good core workout. If youre sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More

Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Ed Lee isn’t one to let human rights get in the way of a dollar, as his latest tone-deaf remarks on the homeless indicate.

click to enlarge

Julie Blaustein/Flickr

Ed Lee: Scarecrow to the homeless.

In an interview with CBS 5, Mayor Lee was blunt about how the city plans to manage the homeless when Super Bowl 50 rolls into town this February: “They are going to have to leave.”

Super Bowl 50, slated for Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, is expected to bring millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of tourists to the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the easternmost stretch of Market Street and Justin Herman Plaza will transform into a “fan village” hosting food vendors, corporate sponsor exhibitions, family-friendly activities, and a media staging ground.

What it won’t include is the city’s homeless.

“We’ll give you an alternative. We are always going to be supportive. But you are going to have to leave the streets,” Mayor Lee told CBS 5.

Those alternatives include beefed-up homeless programs and 500 new apartments the Mayor expects to open by February. But with an estimated 6,000 homeless on the city’s streets at any given time, 500 apartments will barely make a dent.

Mayor Lee added, ‘Some of them are mentally ill. Some of them have severe drug addiction and yeah, they get cleaned up 24 hours and they are back on the environment that caused this in the first place.”

(The Mayor did not indicate how sweeping homeless people under the rug in time for game day will relieve this cycle.)

Thanks to the Chronicle’s relentless campaign to gin up outrage and disgust around homelessness, the latest installment of which championed a Nob Hill woman's dial-a-cop approach, it’s likely that many San Franciscans will applaud Mayor Lee’s tough guy stance.

But after the TV crews and tourist dollars leave town, the homeless will remain, as will the bitter aftertaste of a Mayor more concerned with dollars than dignity.

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Slideshows

Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'.
Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"